Birds I'm Watching: Yellow-rumped Warbler

Saw a yellow-rumped warbler in the garden today, puffing up his feathers to keep warm in the rain. This is the only type of warbler I've ever seen in the yard. The last time I recorded one was five years ago to the day--January 23, 2004. A very showy, if nervous bird. There was a lot of activity generally today.

Lesser goldfinches and American goldfinches were eating rosemary seeds and appeared to be taking nectar from the flowers by pinching them off at the base and sucking. Sparrows--I couldn't decide what kind of sparrows--and house finches (including a pair of the orange variant) were plucking seeds from the coral bark maple. All the birds were stealing manzanita blossoms and presumably getting nectar from them, but they were giving as much attention to the fallen blossoms as they were to those on the tree (Arctostaphylos densiflora "Sentinel"), and--somewhat annoyingly--the same birds were plucking unopened buds from the pink flowering plum tree (Prunus bleiriana) on the other side of the yard. There were quite a few seagulls flying around as well--which usually is a reliable predictor of bad weather around here (they move in from the coast, to the west). It has rained most of the day.